Preface

Inland waters, lakes, rivers, and their connected wetlands are the most important and the most vulnerable sources of freshwater on the planet. The ecology dependent on these systems includes a wide range of flora and fauna, as well as most human populations and civilization. The study of inland waters includes analyses of the biology, chemistry, physical dynamics, morphology, geology, and geography of inland aquatic systems. Inland water investigations may include examinations of lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, reservoirs, wetlands, and groundwater, as well as the ecological and anthropogenic factors that define and influence such systems. In particular, inland waters and wetlands are highly susceptible to chemical and biological pollutants from natural or human sources, changes in watershed dynamics due to the establishment of dams and reservoirs, and land use changes from agriculture and industry. This book provides a comprehensive review of issues important to the understanding of inland waters and discusses many worldwide inland water systems. The main topics of this text are water quality investigation, analyses of the ecology of inland water systems, remote sensing observation and numerical modelling methods, and biodiversity investigations.

This book is organized into four main sections. The first section is entitled "Water Quality of Inland Waters", which is concerned with factors that affect the status of freshwater system quality. Chapter 1 of the first section investigates the contamination by microplastics found in salt works used for table salt in the Portuguese coastal waters, which reveals that microplastic contamination can be a serious concern. Chapter 2 of the first section adopts a novel approach to consider the entropy of inland water systems in the analysis of pollution and analyzes and compares many different freshwater quality indices in the waters of Armenia.

The second section of the book is entitled "Ecological Factors Affecting Inland Waters", which presents different issues related to the ecological health of wetlands and lakes. Chapter 1 of the second section analyzes how the impacts of global climate change can affect the production of inland freshwater fisheries, which in turn can impact the economy of those who depend on these industries. This chapter also provides suggestions for efficient management of fisheries under increased climate change scenarios. Chapter 2 of the second section is about techniques and methodologies of designing constructed wetlands for river diversion as possible improvements to water quality. Chapter 3 of the second section discusses the dynamics of hazardous algae blooms in Lake Erie, and the economic impacts on tourism in the region. Chapter 4 in the second section discusses various forms of constructed wetland structures and how this may help local aquatic plants respond and adapt to contamination by pollutants such as antibiotic resistant genes.

The third section of this book is focused on observational and modelling methodology, entitled "Remote Sensing and Modelling of Inland Waters". Chapter 1 of the third section examines how thermal stratification in lakes and reservoirs can be categorized and provides an in-depth analysis of the governing equations for modelling the hydrodynamics and water quality in stratified inland water systems, including particular case studies. Chapter 2 of the third section analyzes

precipitation in inland water systems as observed from satellites using the CHIRPS method. Chapter 3 of the third section presents a detailed methodology for using remote sensing to extract narrow water features from satellite imagery using a morphological linear enhancement technique.

The fourth and final section of the book deals with biological issues in inland water systems and is entitled " Biodiversity of Inland Waters". Chapter 1 of the fourth section presents a detailed zoological study of invertebrates found in the stream and river systems of North America, and discusses relevant factors affecting these populations. Chapter 2 of the fourth section reviews the biodiversity dynamics in the Okavango Delta in Botswana, discussing biotic and abiotic factors, flood dynamics, and other factors important to this wetland system. Chapter 3 of the fourth section discusses the biodiversity and environmental integrity of rivers in Nigeria, involving a detailed and thorough statistical analysis of various ecological factors. Finally, Chapter 4 of the fourth section reviews the present status of knowledge of invertebrates found in rivers, lakes and wetlands in western South America, and provides a characterization of the diverse groups of insects, mollusks, crustaceans and other smaller groups spread over two major invertebrate phyla.

The chapters of this book provide detailed and varied information about many of the important factors affecting inland water systems, with a good variety of systems worldwide discussed. It is hoped that the methods and analyses presented here will inspire new in-depth investigations and other future studies. We are grateful to the authors, and to the publishing staff of IntechOpen for their contributions to this textbook and their hard work.

> **Adam T. Devlin and Jiayi Pan** Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China

**Mohammad Manjur Shah** Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Nigeria

**1**

Section 1

Water Quality of Inland

Waters

### Section 1
